Is your notebook getting full of illegible scribbles, tired of losing your notes, or looking for
them page by page only to find nothing? Organize your notes and take your productivity to the
next level while reducing paper waste.
If you’re looking for a new note-taking app or you are just getting into note-taking, this
article will try to provide some suggestions.
Offline notes vs note-taking apps
No matter what thought you want to write down in order to memorize it, notes are proven method
of offloading your brain and keeping the ideas and thoughts preserved. Sometimes things get
hectic and it’s hard to keep track of everything, it’s better to have a note but why stick with
the outdated writing on paper when you can have your notes neatly formatted, organized by the
priority and synced with all of your desktop and mobile devices?
Sync itself is an awesome feature but you can also share notes with others and vice versa.
Taking notes will also help you to memorize things you’re writing down and understand the topic
better if you are listening to a presentation or a lecture. There are really not many downsides
to taking notes, even less so when we are talking about digital notes. Still not convinced? In
the next part of today’s article, we are going to take a look at the most popular note-taking
apps and services. Give them a try and maybe you will find your new favorite!
Evernote
Arguably the most known note-taking app on the market. Evernote focuses just on note-taking and
in some specialized features, it may have an advantage compared to eM Client. To some users,
these features are crucial, however, there is one BUT. Evernote can’t be used with different
note services which limits its applications, it has some premium features locked behind a
paywall with the possibility of a free plan (which will limit Evernote’s features). The main
limitation is only two active logins, if you need to be logged on more than two devices it will
require a Premium license. While Evernote is a service you access through a dedicated app and
you can use their desktop app aside from the web app. Undoubtedly, Evernote’s strength is its
cross-platform availability.
It can be run in a web browser, on iPad instead of the Apple Notes app, it can be installed on
Windows, and on Mac too.
OneNote
OneNote is a product from Microsoft 365 family, compared to other note taking apps it has more
complex interface. While some extra features are nice to have, such as different fonts and
integration with Teams, the interface might be overwhelming and sometimes less is more.
Integration with other Microsoft 365 services is hard to beat as OneNote a part of one huge
ecosystem. If you aren’t using other products from Microsoft it is not going to affect you much,
otherwise, it is a great option and it is available for free.
You can access it via web or download mobile/desktop app for Windows, macOS, Android and iOS.
Google Keep
Another app that is a product of a colossal company with a wide portfolio of products. It is one
of the go-to note-taking apps as it is free and Google in general is very accessible to people.
You either have a Gmail account, Android phone or you may have created Youtube account, all
these are basically the same Google account you can use with all their services and that’s why
Google Keep is one of the popular choices. If you have an account with Google you just log in
and see the familiar and very simplistic interface which is the exact opposite of OneNote. You
are offered with a solid set of features although it’s a limited one. On the other hand, if you
want to take a note you don’t need all the fancy features. Google Keep is nice and simple
service which integrates with other Google services so you can upload your notes to Google drive
to share them as files or use the link sharing feature.
Apple Notes app
This app deserves a honorable mention due to its big user base, it can be also used on your
Apple devices and via iCloud website. If you are thinking- “How do I get apple notes?” that’s
where the obstacles become apparent, it is an app only for Apple users.
If you do not have Apple device you need to at least have iCloud account to use a web version.
You can use handwriting, create lists and surprisingly, you are allowed to add other note-taking
services to a mobile Notes app. That means Google Keep can be added next to iCloud account and
you can use them all in one app. As was already mentioned, Apple Notes are available only for
iOS, ipadOS, macOS and through iCloud website.
eM Client
A final item on our list that is a little different, it isn’t a dedicated note-taking app and it
depends on a 3rd party accounts that offer note service. At the moment, Exchange, Microsoft 365,
IceWarp, and ImageWay accounts are compatible with eM Client notes. Formatting options are
generous, you can create lists, edit indentation, and much more if you fancy more structured
notes.
If you prefer to keep your notes locally, it offers local folders where you can place existing
notes or create them from scratch. Just as online notes can be dragged to the local folders, you
can drag and drop offline notes to the note account to sync them.
What eM Client lacks in notes, it compensates by seamless switching between mail, calendar,
notes, tasks, contacts, and chat. If multitasking is your thing, you will surely appreciate the
possibility to open each of those sections of eM Client as a separate window.